Which is the most dangerous security threat in the cyber world & why?

In my opinion, the most dangerous cyber security threats are two fatal chips flaws labelled Meltdown and Spectre, which are results of bad decisions taken fifteen years ago, when engineers prioritized performance over security.

In January 2018, researchers released papers illustrating the Meltdown[1] and Spectre[2] vulnerabilities.

Meltdown is a vulnerability affecting Intel and a few ARM devices. It allows user mode processes to infer the contents of kernel memory by creating cache loads in locations based on the illegally referenced contents of the kernel memory, thereby leaking the contents themselves. Spectre is not manufacturer specific,and nearly all modern processors have the flaw. It uses conditional logic to train the system to incorrectly anticipate application behavior. This tricks the system into breaking process isolation, temporarily executing instructions that create observable effects, constituting a side channel.

Meltdown can still be fixed with a patch, but fixing Spectre requires processor replacement; and almost all processors have the flaw. A design overhaul is needed. Unless that happens, we all are vulnerable to Spectre. And when we are hit, our systems will not be useable anymore. It is a big financial as well as data loss.

To mitigate Meltdown, install the latest patches onto your systems. Secure cloud deployments on high priority and ensure that server access is limited to administrators.

To mitigate Spectre, new processors and architecture will be required, which will take at least 10 years to hit the market. Right now, the best bet would be to sacrifice performance for microcode fixes. This would involve firmware updates from the device manufacturers- who take their own sweet time in doing so.

Be careful out there. Personally, I am scared of purchasing new computers because of these vulnerabilities.

Footnotes

[1] https://meltdownattack.com/meltd...

[2] https://spectreattack.com/spectr...

Human Error

Despite of ever increasing rate of complex cyber security solutions, inadvertant human errors keep creating opportunities for hackers to exploit their weaknesses.

According to IBM’s “2014 Cyber Security Intelligence Index” it has been identified that 95% of all security incidents involve human error.

Some real life examples of Human error includes:

1. Sending sensitive/confedential data outside of organisation(Does your organisation restrict you to send confedential data on public domains?)
2. Delay in security patches(We Humans are born lazy!)
3. Sharing official email ids with everyone(I work in a big firm and everyone must know about it )
4. Clicking on malicious urls/links received on your official mail id(Ever thought how malwares/viruses get installed on your sysytem?)
5. Browsing unsafe sites and downloading unwanted softwares( I will play online games in office because “All work and no play makes jack a dull boy”)
6. Using unsecure functions in coding. (My application wears a bullet proof jacket and no bullet can pierce it)
7. Not reporting suspicious activity/incident to InfoSec Team.( Let Holmes do his part!)

We must understand that technology alone is not a panacea and people has to take responsibility to secure their data

 

In cyber world there are three key main players:

1. People
2. Process
3. Systems

To be honest, most of companies have good processes and security systems but they lack on people trainings, cyber awareness, undervaluing cyber as a treat, and CISO is undervalued in among CxO's.

All the major attacks initiate from people. All the employees must be trained on best cyber practises to follow.